From Child To Rebel
by Look-for-the-miracles
Summary: Follow a young torgruta child as she grows up in the waning years of the Republic and throughout the rise of the Empire. From a frightened young girl to a powerful rebel, Kaya faces the challenges of tyrannical empire the only way she can: with hope for brighter days, stories of the past, and a pair of blasters at her waist.


**Here I am, back with a brand new fic. This time it's a Star Wars one-shot, focused on the progression of a child as she lives in the waning days of the Republic and throughout the Empire. I always thought it'd been interesting to take an outsider view-point on the events in Star Wars, and so I've finally gotten my ass into gear and down it.**

**Please, enjoy.**

**Edit: God, I've just had another read through and I've spotted quite a few missing words and/or mistakes. I can't believe I posted this in that state. Hopefully, they're all gone now, but please let me know if you spot any other mistakes.**

* * *

_**From Child To Rebel**_

* * *

The first time Kaya sees the Jedi, they are bringing food and medical supplies to her starving village. The planet had been blockaded by the Separatists until very recently. Now, the Jedi march in baring life-giving gifts and cheery smiles. Behind the pair of Jedi walks rows and rows of clone troopers. The bright white armour gleams in the early morning sunlight. Kaya thinks they look like angels; it wouldn't surprise her if they were.

A pair of troopers stop before Kaya and her little group of children (watched over by Kaya's grandma and mum) and remove their helmets. They both have the same face, Kaya notes with some surprise. It's very odd and she tells them as much.

"How come you've got the same face?" She asks, nibbling on her lekku. "I thought people all had different faces."

One of them, with a dark buzz cut, passes a candy bar and grins at her. "We're clones, little one. All of us brothers look the same."

"What's a clone?" Kaya clutches the candy bar tight, blinking up at the troopers with wide, blue eyes. She hasn't been to school since she was seven years old. It's been almost three years, but the war has meant no money for school. The school shut barely after the war started; already the taxes were too much for their small village. 'Clone' is a new word that Kaya has learnt but still doesn't know the meaning of.

"It means we're copies of each other. Like identical twins. We've got the same DNA, so we look exactly alike." The other one, with bleach-blond hair, nudges the dark-haired one with his shoulder. "But we're all different inside. Shoot here has a habit of breaking as many rules as possible, whereas I like to follow orders."

Shoot rolls his eyes as his brother. "Yeah, yeah. And you, Beat, almost never take a risk." He winks at Kaya. "He's always giving me lectures on my so-called 'stupid antics'. But I never listen."

Beat huffs but says nothing. Kaya grins at them and rushes forward to hug them. Behind her, her mother lets out a squeak of alarm. But Kaya doesn't care and continues in her pursuit to steal a hug from both of them. The two oblige her, then let all the other children do the same. Part of Kaya is jealous of that. She saw the troopers first, so they're _her_ special friends. They're not for sharing.

But then, they have to leave. With a quick pat to her montrals for each, the soldiers turn to go. As they march away, Kaya tries to run after them. Her mother scoops Kaya into her arms and strokes Kaya's back as she cries onto her mother's shoulder. Kaya can't help but feel they were finally safe with the soldiers here. How long will it be before they're invaded again?

* * *

She doesn't see any Jedi again for ages and ages. Only a few months after the troopers came to save them, the Jedi Temple goes up in flames. Kaya watches open-mouthed as the Supreme Chancellor announces that he is now the Emperor. She doesn't really care about that, but then he announces that the Jedi are traitors. There's footage of the troopers on various planets and the temple itself, shooting down the Jedi and killing them. Kaya can't watch anymore then and runs off to cry.

It can't be true. The Jedi that came to free them were kind and generous. They brought them gifts and saved them all from certain death or enslavement. But now the whole galaxy seems to have denounced them as vile traitors responsible for the whole war in the first place. Kaya doesn't know anything about that, but she can't imagine the friendly Jedi starting a war. She can't imagine the troopers killing them either, but there's so much footage of it.

Kaya just hopes that Beat and Shoot weren't part of it.

* * *

Troopers come back to her planet nearly a year later. Apparently, they're now called Storm Troopers. Kaya doesn't like that name. Her mother mustn't either because she drags Kaya away from the window as they march and covers her mouth an orange-skinned hand.

"Don't say anything to them, Kaya darling," her mother says, bobbing down to look Kaya in the eye. "These troopers aren't your friends. They're here to do a job, and you don't want to be noticed by them. Just stay quiet and out of their way. Just be good, and nothing will happen to you."

Kaya nods along to her mother and promises to be a good girl. She can't imagine what the troopers could possibly do to her. She's just a little torgruta girl with nothing to hide. Kaya is a child; they wouldn't hurt children, would they?

She gets her answer three days later.

**oOo**

Everyone in the village is made to line-up in the centre. Kaya clutches at her mother's hand, suddenly very nervous. No one is talking at all, apart from the occasional order from the Storm Troopers. All they do is gather in the village centre, waiting for whatever the troopers want from them.

They've been waiting to wait feels like forever to Kaya when a sudden scream fills the air. Two troopers drag an elderly torgruta man between them. The man's body is bloody and bruised, with his head hanging low. The troopers throw him to the ground, close to Kaya's face. She hides behind her mother. She's never been scared by the troopers before, but now fear is bubbling through like burning lava. Something is very, very, very wrong.

Another pair of troopers drag a young woman out with them. Her hands are bound tight before her. The woman doesn't scream or cry out, but her face is twisted in pain. One of the troopers is holding some kind of silver cylinder. Kaya squints at it, certain that she's seen something like it before. She ponders over it for a moment, until it suddenly hits her. Kaya lets out a squeak of alarm. That's a lightsaber! A laser sword. That woman is a Jedi.

"This man was found harbouring a traitor to the Empire," one of the troopers says, voice empty and cold. "He himself is now a traitor to the Empire. This is a capital crime and carries the heaviest sentence. Watch now and see the punishment you will receive if any of you dare do the same. Anyone who tries to interfere will be treated the same."

He gestures to another trooper. The trooper raises his gun, takes aim, and fires. A smoldering hole forms in the old man's forehead as he slumps to the ground. Dead.

A chorus of wails and screams rises up from the torgruta crowd. Kaya screams herself. Hot tears drip down her face and sneak into the dusty ground. They just killed an old man. Killed for helping a Jedi. It doesn't make any sense at all. The Jedi help people, and when people help them, they shouldn't be killed for it. No matter what that wrinkled old Emperor says. Kaya knows the Jedi are good; she can feel it in her heart. But she'd never speak those words out loud. It's too dangerous.

Another shot rings out. The female Jedi slumps the ground. Her red hair spills out on the ground, looking eerily like a pool of blood. Kaya turns away and buries her face in her mother's side. There are two dead bodies now, lying in the dust just feet away from her. It's too much to think. Everything must have gone so wrong. Why would anyone want to kill a Jedi?

* * *

Ten years later, and Kaya finds herself in need of a job desperately. She's a pretty good mechanic, so she applies for any position she can. Even if it means working for the Empire that she hates. Of course, Kaya would never say that out loud but that doesn't mean she can't think it. It is, after all, a thought that has been growing steadily since that fateful day when she was 11 years old. The Empire wanted to send out a message that day, but it wasn't the one they intended. All they did was fill her of hate and determination.

Kaya actually ends up on Coruscant as she searches for jobs. The planet, now renamed Imperial Centre, attracts all dream of making a better life for themselves. Sadly, very few ever do. It's just a cesspit of the wasted potential of trillions of dreamers serving the rich and the corrupt. And, of course, the Empire. Kaya scoffs at the thought. And yet, here she is. Joining the cesspit.

She's lucky, in a way, though. Her job is fairly interesting and steady. Kaya is a junior mechanic aboard an imperial cruiser. On this ship, every section has its own pair of junior and senior mechanics. Hers is a greying human male with a wrinkly face and a deep laugh. They share quarters, but each of them has their own tiny bedroom. According to Wilson, because they work on the engines, they have to live right next to them. There's a little extra room at the bottom of the ship, so the pair of them get to spread out.

Kaya knows there are three other mechanic pairs for the engines, but she's only ever seen them in passing. They don't have any shifts together so it's rare for them to interact. In fact, the only person she really sees on a daily basis is Wilson. The old man (apparently grey hair is a sign of aging in humans) keeps her company with an endless of stream of stories about the good old days. Personally, Kaya thinks it's a little risky to refer to the days of the Republic like that, but no one has come for Wilson yet.

Once she's been on board the ship for three months, Kaya asks for her first story about the Jedi. Wilson gives her a surprised look but soon breaks into a grin. Down in the engine room, it's impossible to be over-heard. That leaves them a little wiggle room. All the same, Kaya is careful to never say anything against the Empire.

"What do you want to know, youngling?" He asks, eyes twinkling with intrigue. "I've got a lot of stories 'bout them old space wizards."

Wilson smiles even wider when Kaya says, "Everything."

**oOo**

He tells her many stories throughout the next two years. Kaya's favourites are always the ones about The Team: Skywalker and Kenobi. Wilson laughs when she tells him that, giving her a knowing look.

"They were famous, those two," he says, wiping his oily brow with a damp cloth. "Many a youngling wanted to meet them, and even more wanted to be them. Them and that apprentice of theirs. She was one of you lot – a torgruta. Wonder whatever happened to them. Killed I expect."

"As per our wise Emperor's orders." Kaya tries to keep a straight face, but a few giggles manage to escape her. There's no point in saying anything out loud against the Empire, but she can think it. Sometimes that thinking manages to escape but never as words. Kaya isn't that stupid.

**oOo**

Then, nearly three weeks later, Wilson doesn't turn up for work. Kaya waits for to arrive, busily doing whatever tasks she can while her heart pounds out a frantic rhythm. But he doesn't arrive all day. As she crawls back to bed, tired and sore, Kaya has still yet to see him. Part of hopes that he's just a bit ill and is staying in the medical ward. The rest of her thinks that something bad has happened, and he's been taken.

The rest of her turns about to be right. Wilson doesn't turn up for the next week. Then, after ten days of working alone, a new senior mechanic arrives to take his place. This time it's a tall woman who a sharp tongue and a no-nonsense attitude. Kaya barely talks to the new woman, speaking only when she has to.

When they next go planet-side, Kaya resigns and leaves. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she runs for the nearest public 'fresher and changes into her regular old clothes. She burns everything from her old job. Then, using thick red make-up, Kaya disguises some of her facial markings and walks out a new woman.

* * *

It takes her another year to locate the Rebel Alliance. Kaya finds it in a very peculiar way. A young man comes barrelling down the alleyway by her squalid home, chased by a pair of storm troopers by the sound of it. She drags him inside her dark home, hissing at him to be quiet.

"Hey," she whispers, once the troopers have long since stomped past, "what did you do to get them on your tail like that? Nothin' good, I'm guessin'."

"Right about that one, sweetheart," he drawls, flipping back his dark fringe. "I'm afraid I'll have to kill you if I tell you what."

"Really?" Kaya purrs, fingering the blasters at her waist. "I'd like to see you try, little boy. Besides, I'm hoping you can help me out. What do you know about the Rebels?"

He falters at the question, eyes flicking between Kaya, the door, and her blasters. "I don't know anything about it. And you shouldn't either. Talk that gets people killed. You don't look like someone who wants to be killed. Take my advice, and never ask anyone about the Rebels again."

"Liar," she says, flipping one blaster in her hand. "You know something about the Rebels. If you know where to find them, tell me. I have a deal to offer you."

"What kinda deal?" Kaya tilts her head as his words; he hasn't insisted upon his apparent lack of knowledge this time.

"I can get you off-planet."

"What makes you think I want to get off-planet?"

Kaya grins at him, though it's more like a baring of teeth. "You want to get off-planet. Any fool can see that. You're running from the Storm Troopers, and you came down to the slums. You're trying to find a place to hide, no doubt because something went wrong with your ride off-planet. There are singe marks on your jacket, so someone has been firing blasters at you. You've been in a fight, my friend, one serious enough for actual blaster bolts. So, you can't be a regular criminal. The troopers don't care about them. It's got to be something serious, and the most serious thing is being a member of the Rebels. The Rebels wouldn't set up base on a highly-populated planet like this, so you must need a ride off-planet."

The mysterious man whistles as she finishes. "Firefek, sweetheart. Are you some kinda detective?"

"No." She smirks. "I'm just clever, and I've been looking for the Rebels for a long time. I've hated the Empire since I was eleven, and now I've finally got the chance to fight against it. Now, about that deal?"

"How can I trust you?"

"How can I trust you?" She parrots back. "We just have too. I'm your ride out of here, and you're my ride to the Rebels. Let's just shake on it and get moving. I've always got a couple of bags packed just in case I need to run."

"Alright then." He grins and holds out his hand. "I'm Migga. Pleasure to meet you."

Kaya takes his hand and shakes it. "Kaya. Pleasure to meet you, too."

* * *

Five years after she joins the Rebels, Kaya finally gets the pleasure of meeting another Jedi. A young man, named Luke Skywalker, joins them after rescuing the princess of Alderaan. Alongside a roguish man (Han Solo, apparently), they become part of the Rebel alliance. It's certainly a cause for celebration. There's been no Jedi for almost twenty years, and now one pops up bearing the name of one of the most famous Jedi in the galaxy. Even if the boy is only partially trained, it's surely a blessing from the Force.

Kaya doesn't even get to meet the young man until after the destruction of the first Death Star. She's managed to get herself into the bustling team of mechanics repairing the fighters. One lucky day, she gets to work on the young Jedi's very own ship. It's an honour to be sure. This might be as close as she gets to a Jedi for a long while. Stars know, there's not exactly a lot of them.

But this time she even gets to talk to one. Kaya struggles to keep to polite small talk. Part of her is still that ten-year-old child, bouncing around and asking clone troopers silly questions. She manages to restrain her words, but there's no restraining her bright grin. Her happy smile lasts for hours after Luke leaves. There's nothing wrong about that though. She's got a cause and a people to believe in again.

Once she was a child, but now Kaya is a rebel.

* * *

**Well, there you have it. This is my very first Star Wars fanfic, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you did, feel free to favourite, follow, or review. If you didn't like it, drop me a line and tell me why. I'm always looking to improve my writing, and I can't do it without you guys.**

**Thank you for reading this one-shot.**

**Look-for-the-miracles**


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